Protective coatings are applied to automobiles and other articles to protect their surface finishes from dirt, scratches and other damage occurring during manufacture, shipping and storage. Such coatings should be tough, easy to apply, easy to remove and should not cause any harm to the article to which they are applied. Protective coatings typically comprise formulations including waxes, polymers and the like. Most of such coatings are deposited from compositions including organic solvents therein. Removal of these coatings requires either organic solvents or wash water having a relatively alkaline pH. Organic solvents or non-neutral aqueous solutions can cause damage to various articles of manufacture, and complicate the formulation and handling of such coatings.
In addition to not causing harm to the article to which they are applied, protective coatings, particularly when applied over a clearcoat layer applied over a paint layer, must also resist etching and distorting the clearcoat layer following the exposure or application of heat to the protective coating. This situation commonly arises during the application of trim components such as pin-striping when heat is applied directly to the protective coating in order to facilitate the adhesion of pin-striping to the surface of the automobile or when an automobile leaves the assembly plant without first having the protective coating removed and is then exposed to heating by sunlight. Automobile manufacturers, therefore, require that these protective coatings resist chemical etching and distortion of the underlying clearcoat of the automobile upon exposure to heat.
Accordingly, there is a need for a protective coating formulation which is aqueous based, and which has a neutral or near neutral pH. It is further desirable that this formulation provide a tough, durable, protective coating, but that the coating be removable from the surface by washing with neutral or near neutral pH water. It would be further desirable and advantageous to have a protective coating which will not etch nor distort the underlying clearcoat layer following exposure to heat. As will be described hereinbelow, the present invention provides a composition fulfilling these criteria.